Year of the Spark: February 20
by Sparky Army
Summary: Crashing back to reality. The Year of the Spark continues!


_We, the Sparky Army, decree 2008 to be the Year of the Spark. We pledge to post a new sparky story or chapter of a sparky story every day from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008. Though the Powers that Be have removed Elizabeth Weir from the regular cast of Stargate Atlantis, we feel that she remains an integral part of the show, and that the relationship between her and John Sheppard is too obvious to be ignored. We hope that you, and anyone might happen to read these works, agree._

And if that isn't official enough for you, we don't know what is. Seriously, guys, we're just trying to have some fun--and show TPTB that Sparky is the way to go. So sit back and enjoy the 366 stories coming your way!

Author's Note (Steph7085): I already had a story written, so I decided to scrap it and start again, lol. this is what came from it... Sparky love!

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**Crashed**

_By Steph7085_

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"Hey," John said as he slowly approached the table where Elizabeth was sitting. She had pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly with her arms. Her brown curls, which had grown to reach past her shoulders, hid her face from view. Her eyes gazing at her knees.

"Hey," she responded simply. She didn't even look up.

John was getting the feeling she didn't want to talk, but he wasn't ever known for listening to orders - especially silent ones - so he sat across from her anyway, pulling the chair from across her out and collapsing into it with a dramatic sigh. He fiddled with some napkins left on the table before looking up again.

"Keller finally let you out then," he stated pointlessly, referring to her rather long stay in sickbay. Elizabeth had been quarantined the moment she had stepped foot through the gate, over a month ago now. They were still trying to figure out how and why, after almost a year of waiting, their lost leader would return to them. Unfortunately she hadn't spoken a word, only nodding or using hand gestures to respond to any questions.

"Yep," she answered, in the same neutral tone as before. She remained still as John continued shuffling restlessly - for some reason, he was incredibly uncomfortable. He finally decided he'd had enough and stood up quickly, spinning the chair around, straddling it and resting his arms on the back. When he looked up, her eyes, which seemed different somehow, met his as her fingers combed her hair away from her face.

"It suits you," he told her honestly, his hand reaching out to play with one rebellious curl. Her hand intervened though, catching his wrist with surprising speed as she backed away from his touch. The action brought the reality of the situation back and John couldn't help but look away. She would read his expression easily and he wasn't up to sharing his emotions with anyone right now - even her.

Slowly, she lowered his hand to the table, her fingers caressing his hand lightly as she pulled her hand away.

"You don't have to do this," she said softly, straightening out so her feet touched the floor. She rested her elbows on the table, linking her fingers together so she could rest her chin on top of them. It was so reminiscent of all the times she had spent in her office he couldn't help but smile sadly. "I know it isn't 'your thing'."

He glanced down at the napkin that had suddenly appeared in his hand again and scrunched it into a ball before meeting her eyes.

"I know," he shrugged. They sat in silence for a while: Elizabeth lost in her own thoughts, ones which John couldn't imagine, and John playing with his new paper ball. It hurt to know that she was still struggling with something he had no knowledge of, that she had experienced things that no one should ever have to go through and that he couldn't save her from that.

"Is this real?" The question was so simple, so straightforward and honest that John felt his stomach churn. Keller had said something about shock being the reason for Elizabeth's silence, having ruled the nanites safe, not to mention completely harmless. That Elizabeth would think this was some illusion wasn't factored in.

"Yeah…yeah it's real," John told her, his tone of voice sure and strong. She looked into his eyes for what seemed like forever before nodding once and looking around. Her eyes roamed over the whole cafeteria, taking in every change, not that it had changed very much. As far as he knew they had a new plant somewhere and a few pieces of Athosian art scattered around, but that was all he could remember.

She smiled slightly, "They never changed anything before. It was always the same. Every time."

"Atlantis always changes," John added, as if reading her mind.

"Exactly," she agreed, nodding. She froze unexpectedly and narrowed her eyes suspiciously. John watched her curiously and saw the battle she was facing.

"Don't worry 'Lizabeth. I'm not one of them," he told her, his eyes full of understanding. "I'm not smart enough." He added cheekily, breaking out into a huge, full-blown smile when she laughed out load. Her smile lighting up her face, chasing away the shadows in her eyes.

"True," she teased with somewhat forced levity, bowing her head. She chewed on her bottom lip, a gesture she must have developed recently, before sighing. "For some reason I knew that, before I collapsed in the gate room. It just felt…different."

"Good different or bad different?" John questioned light heartedly.

"Good," she responded quickly. "Definitely good."

"Things haven't been the same with out you," John told her, throwing the paper ball towards one of the bins and missing completely. He pouted in the bins direction until he felt Elizabeth's hand cover his. The simple touch shattered some of his control. It was the first time she had reached out and touched anyone. It made her real. Her hand was warm and soft and he couldn't help but grip it like a lifeline.

"Is this real?" He asked stupidly, earning himself a huff of laughter. He squeezed her hand tighter and looked up into her eyes. They were glistening, not just with tears but with emotion and life. He sucked in a deep breath and reached out, hesitantly at first until his palm finally cupped her cheek. She didn't flinch once, only leaned into his touch.

"I've missed you too."


End file.
